A Stay-At-Home Mom’s Guide to Starting a Small Business

While many believe motherhood takes a massive toll on women and prevents them from taking business ventures, successful mompreneurs have proven this wrong.

Deena Shakir, General Partner at Lux Capital and a mother of two, told Forbes that although motherhood is challenging, it can lead to high-performing productivity and efficiency.

Other successful mompreneurs also emphasized the importance of turning the working mother narrative from negative into positive, letting go of perfection, and re-inventing traditional work.

These words can encourage stay-at-home moms to turn their dream careers into reality. If you plan to establish a small business, this guide will help you launch one that aligns with your passion, sustains your family’s needs, and creates a fulfilling entrepreneurial journey.

Turn Your Passion into a Business Idea

Passion is an enduring enthusiasm for something. It is the driving force of your actions, perseverance, and creativity toward success.

Since most businesses begin with a passion for anything, turn yours into an invaluable business idea.

Here’s how to do it:

• Identify the problems you can solve.
• Think about the consumers’ pain points by putting yourself in their shoes.

After these, define your unique selling proposition or USP. This business concept identifies what makes your brand stand out against competitors, establishing your competitive edge in the market.

If you can’t decide on a business idea, try doing the following:

• List everything that you love doing. Think of what your loved ones have come to you for, such as proofreading, video editing, or essay writing. Choose the one that makes you the most excited.
• Ask your friends about what they think you’re good at.
• Evaluate the pros and cons of each business idea to determine the best fit for your needs.

Decide on a Business Model

The next step involves deciding on a business model to determine your profit-making plan. Some of the ideal business models for stay-at-home moms like you include:

• Retailer: You’ll buy finished goods from distributors or manufacturers and sell them directly to customers. In this model, you can use your home to store the products if it has enough space. You’ll also manage the inventory yourself.
• Fee-for-Service: This model charges fixed or hourly rates for labor or services within specific agreements. You can use this if you have skills you’ve trained or studied for, such as graphic designing, accounting, photography and videography, tutoring, or content creation.
• Dropshipping: This model lets you sell products online without owning or operating a brick-and-mortar store. You can start an e-commerce business and earn from various products without managing inventory and fulfillment.

Research and Analyze Your Target Market

Starting a business involves understanding your target market through market research. It is a detailed assessment of your target audiences and competitive landscape.

Market research provides the following benefits:

• Determine how your business stacks up against competitors.
• Identify trends and opportunities.
• Reduce expenses on unnecessary investments.
• Tailor your products or services to a niche market.
• Examine how economic factors, such as social status and income range, affect potential customers’ purchasing power.
• Study the demand for your products or services.
• Evaluate the price range consumers are willing to pay for your products or services.
• Understand market saturation to identify competitor offers similar to yours.

Establish a Budget Plan and Choose a Funding Source

Once you understand your target market’s landscape, it’s time to create a budget plan and choose a funding source. You can create a spreadsheet to categorize and organize your bookkeeping.

Here’s what you should include in your budget plan:

• Expected costs for products or services.
• Packaging materials (if you’ll sell material goods).
• Equipment for product or service creation.
• Service fees for an accountant or business coach.
• Costs of reselling products.
• Service fees for web and graphic designers, if necessary.
• Legal fees for your chosen business structure.

Then, pick the most suitable funding source for your business. Remember to align your choice with your resources and financial capability. Here are the funding sources to choose from:

• Bootstrapping (Self-funding): You’ll use your money to support your startup. However, managing your finances is essential if you choose this. To ease the financial stress, especially when you have outstanding parent plus debts, consider options like refinancing Parent PLUS Loans to lower your monthly repayments and save more capital for your business.
• Angel Investors: High-earning individuals who invest capital in exchange for equity.
• Venture Capitalists: Investment agencies or investors who support startups in exchange for a portion of their profits.
• Crowdfunding: Large groups of people who are willing to raise funds, particularly for a cause.
• Small Business Loan: It lets you borrow a specific amount if your funds aren’t sufficient.
• Government Grants and Incentives: State-funded programs for qualified individuals starting their businesses. Requirements vary for each state, so ensure to check yours before applying.

Outline Your Daily Routine

As a mompreneur, you must balance business management and attending to your children’s needs. Although challenging, ensuring your family’s well-being while setting up your startup for success is essential.

You can do this by outlining your daily routine to separate your work and personal lives.

Start by allocating your most productive hours for business tasks to maximize efficiency. Setting a specific time frame—preferably the standard 8-hour work—is ideal to help you focus.

Then, align your schedules with your children’s to ensure your presence in their most significant moments. You should also have free weekends and dedicate these days to family time and personal endeavors.

This setup helps you manage your time efficiently and lets your family know when they shouldn’t disturb you.

Devise a Business Plan and Make Compelling Pitches for Investors

If your chosen funding source is a venture capitalist, you must devise a business plan and make compelling pitches.

Your business plan comprehensively outlines your startup’s growth, development, and innovation goals. Here’s what this document should include:

• An executive summary that summarizes your goals in one page.
• Startup description (objectives, mission, and vision statements).
• Product or service descriptions.
• Market analysis summary.
• Marketing strategies you’ll implement.
• Budget plan with income and revenue projections.

After finishing your business plan, create your pitch presentation. A successful business pitch showcases your concept efficiently so investors have confidence in gaining a return on investment.

You should also understand the venture capitalists’ motivations to know what to prioritize and build lasting relationships.

Register Your Startup

Register your startup to formalize and legalize its entity once your business plan and pitch presentation are ready. Registering is also essential in ensuring your credibility, ownership, and transparency to potential investors.

Here are the steps to registering your startup:

• Establish your business name. If choosing a limited liability company (LLC) structure, your name shouldn’t be similar to another business entity’s name registered in your state or a trademarked phrase.
• Pick your legal structure and prepare the requirements. Your startup can be a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, corporation, or cooperative.
• Employ a registered agent. This professional or agency will help you prepare and manage tax, government, and legal requirements.
• Register your startup in a federal or state agency. LLCs, partnerships, and corporations usually file with state agencies.
• Remember to check for any work from home incentives provided by your city or state. Since Covid-19 many states have provided incentives for remote workers who live there.

Purchase a Business Insurance Policy

Whatever structure you choose, you may need insurance to protect you from lawsuits and cover losses. Some policies to consider include:

• Liability Insurance Policy: Covers costs if someone is hurt because of your business.
• Property Insurance Policy: Covers costs for your and other people’s property if it is damaged during your operations.
• Worker’s Compensation Policy: If you plan to hire employees, this is a required policy to protect and cover their medical costs when they get injured while working.

Create a Website and Social Media Accounts

Once your startup is set, it’s time to create a website and social media accounts. Since most consumers shop online, establishing these sales channels is essential to reach and engage with your target audiences.

You must use a content management system (CMS)—like WordPress—to create your website. This user-friendly solution provides customizable themes and helps you manage content and elements. You don’t need advanced technical skills to use it.

Then, set up your social media accounts. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) are some of the popular social media marketing channels to choose from.

Here’s how to establish compelling profiles:

• Create a brand-specific or niche-related username.
• Add intriguing bios.
• Upload engaging profile pictures.
• Finish the setup by adding other relevant details.

Remember to separate your business accounts from your personal ones. At the same time, leverage multiple channels—if necessary—to maximize your reach and each platform’s demographics.

Create Buzz Before the Official Launch

After your website and social media setups, get people talking about your business before the launch. Ask your loved ones to share your profiles and spread the word to their friends. You can also do the same to your professional network.

To create more buzz around your business, publish teasers and opening promos on your social media accounts. These posts will help pique your target audience’s interest, encouraging them to check your profiles for new updates.

Include links that point to your landing page to drive traffic to your website. Don’t forget to put the date of your launch.

Launch Your Startup and Implement Efficient Marketing Strategies

Once everything is ready, you’re all set for the launch. Maximize all means to market your business and gain traction. Interact with prospects and celebrate small wins on your first day through posts to show gratitude and appreciation to your first customers.

Implement efficient marketing strategies to strengthen your online and offline presence. As your business grows, prepare to augment your advertising tactics to meet the growing demand.

Find Opportunities to Scale and Expand Your Business Continuously

Your startup must adapt to your industry’s rapidly changing landscape to maintain its position. It’s best to stay informed about emerging interests, trends, and technological advancements. You should continuously find opportunities to scale and expand your business—when necessary—to remain relevant and competitive.

However, as you scale your business, you must adjust your daily routines to balance your work and family responsibilities.

Be a Successful Mompreneur

Motherhood doesn’t have to hold you back from becoming an entrepreneur and vice versa. You can become a successful mompreneur who fulfills her dreams and family duties by staying committed and focused. Take it easy when things get tough—remember your passion and who you’re doing this for.